Alexander's eyes locked onto Ray. Even from over two hundred meters away, his features—sharper than any ordinary person's—caught every detail clearly.A slow smile spread across his face. "I didn't expect you'd come here so fast!"He hadn't even finished wiping out everyone in the hive yet.There were still some ability users left—capable of running far in this weather. If they escaped, they could reveal his identity. Any future attempts at maintaining his facade would become difficult.Ray chuckled lightly. "Funny… you look all honest and innocent, but your heart is pure venom."He clicked his tongue in admiration. Alexander had played the role of the harmless big-browed man perfectly—just like Agatha herself. He really knew how to act.Alexander didn't flinch at the mockery. Ray was intentionally provoking him, and both of them could kill in a single strike. Any small lapse could be fatal.Besides, being insulted carried no risk, so he remained calm."Ray," Alexander said, a

'Heh. A college guy hitting up a hotel massage parlor? You're no saint, that's for sure,' Ray scoffed inwardly, completely unmoved. What did any of this have to do with him?"That experience taught me the value of money," Alexander continued. "So after graduation, I moved to Guillory City. With my charm and skills, I landed a spot at a high-tech company pretty fast."Not long after, someone reached out—wanted me to steal the company's research documents. Promised me a serious payday. I thought it over for three days. Then I said yes.""Hah. Still just a backstabbing little rat," Ray muttered the insult under his breath.Alexander held up a hand, calm and unhurried. "That guy came to me a lot. I took plenty of money and sold off mountains of company secrets. The funny part? I knew they'd eventually figure out there was a mole. So while I was stealing, I made sure to plant evidence on a particular colleague."That guy was quiet, kept to himself, didn't fit in. Me? I was the opposite

Ray pressed his hand down.A massive surge of warmth flooded him, so intense it felt like he might burst from the sheer volume.It was too much!His spatial perception spiked instantly. Kilometer by kilometer, the range expanded—then quickly stabilized.The increase in spatial perception range was the easiest way to gauge how much energy he had absorbed.3,102 meters.Not that his perception now reached 3,102 meters—but it had increased by that much.In other words, Alexander had provided a staggering 3,102 units of ability. Ray had previously absorbed around 2,100 units.Alexander wasn't just stronger—he was nearly 50% stronger than Ray before absorption."To think that I killed him… Damn, that's intense," Ray muttered, still a little shaken. Had it not been for his ability to counter physical types, that previous battle could have gone either way.But in the end, he had won, and the reward was enormous.Agatha wasn't weak either. Just from her alone, at least a thousand un

Ray figured that if he headed to Guillory City now, he wouldn't be untouchable—but he could definitely hold his own. Survival wouldn't be an issue.Go or not?Better not dwell on it for now. Even if he wanted to, it was too soon. He'd at least need to wait until all fourteen women at Greenbow Tower and Leo's three mates had finished evolving. That would take several more days.So he waited.But he didn't waste time. Over the following days, he went out daily with one of the women, hunting for energy sources. Any supplies they came across, he grabbed—useful or not, didn't matter. He took it all.Collecting oil had become almost absurdly easy.What was the limit of his spatial perception now?5,255 meters. Over five kilometers. That kind of range let him see above and below ground—walls, lead shielding, none of it mattered. Nothing could block his perception.Imagine if he could cover the whole planet... he could watch anyone's private moments anytime he wanted.Sounds thrilling

Over the next five days, Ray drew the "lottery" once a day.Out of the fourteen women, nine successfully completed their evolution and gained abilities. That was an impressively high success rate.Not as perfect as Athena, of course. Athena had a 100% success rate, but the ability users she created couldn't grow or improve—they were merely crafted for her purposes.Ray's approach was different. He was just giving a helping hand; the evolved humans were real, normal ability users, capable of their own growth. He was the real powerhouse.Leo's three mates had mixed results: one succeeded, two failed. The successful one grew massively, rivaling Leo in size, and its ability wasn't a soil-based shield but a fireball attack. Under Leo's "guidance," the newly evolved dog was extremely affectionate toward Ray, showing none of the usual ferocity of evolved beasts.Oddly, Leo completely ignored the two that had failed, only showing affection to the one that succeeded.'Look at you, big-eye